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General Neurodiversity Campaigns?

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BigSister
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30 Mar 2014, 9:58 am

So I was looking for some advocacy resources for a bipolar friend who wants to advocate for neurodiversity and, coming up short, I realized that all the neurodiversity campaigning seems to be coming from solely the autism community. Are you guys aware of any advocacy groups that encompass neurodiversity as a whole or any that at least welcome others who are neurodiverse but not on the spectrum and campaign for them as well?

Thanks!! !
BigSister


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emtyeye
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30 Mar 2014, 10:19 pm

No. Let's start one.


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BigSister
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31 Mar 2014, 9:12 am

emtyeye, moments like this I wish WP had an "upvote" or a "like" button. Believe it or not, yes, I'd be up for it. :D


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emtyeye
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31 Mar 2014, 9:17 am

BigSister wrote:
emtyeye, moments like this I wish WP had an "upvote" or a "like" button. Believe it or not, yes, I'd be up for it. :D


I have been thinking the same thing about the "like" button. A lot of people look at posts but don't respond, but maybe they would push a "like" button if they agreed and we'd get more feedback on thoughts in our posts. Alex?



BigSister
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31 Mar 2014, 9:38 am

emtyeye wrote:
Also, having lived through a couple of other liberation/civil rights movements, the time for a full-blown neuro-diversity movement is now! It's gonna be hard, because of our lousy social skills and networking capacity, but we (Aspie brains) put men on the moon, built the Internet, and invented the computer, so I think we can figure this one out, too. As long as it becomes a "special interest" for enough of us.


I may not necessarily be full-fledged autistic, but I definitely have special interests and autism advocacy and neurodiversity are on that list. There is definitely, as I said, a movement pushing for neurodiversity from the autism side of things - ASAN, for example. But general movements seem to be rather lacking and I do think it is time for the movement to start generalizing.


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themanfromuranus
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31 Mar 2014, 12:47 pm

BigSister wrote:
So I was looking for some advocacy resources for a bipolar friend who wants to advocate for neurodiversity and, coming up short, I realized that all the neurodiversity campaigning seems to be coming from solely the autism community. Are you guys aware of any advocacy groups that encompass neurodiversity as a whole or any that at least welcome others who are neurodiverse but not on the spectrum and campaign for them as well?

Thanks!! !
BigSister
sound like a nobel cause which i will be happy to support, how can i help?



BigSister
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31 Mar 2014, 7:11 pm

I'm not sure. Since one doesn't seem to exist, I was thinking about making a Facebook page for general neurodiversity supporters? And then post articles about neurodiversity spanning all disorders, not just autism. I feel kind of bad about that, though - I don't actually personally have any official diagnoses that would qualify as neurodiverse. If you guys are on-board, though, I will totally make it.

Long-term a website seems in order, too, but at the moment I rather have my hands full with the Autism Spectrum Explained website (I'm also attempting to translate it into Spanish/Chinese and that is HARD) and starting a new one will take a lot of time and energy. Not the website itself, that's easy and I could literally have one with the basics up tonight, but the content and finding someone with each of the different diagnoses that is a proponent of neurodiversity and willing to contribute their thoughts, that may take some time. If you guys could help with that side of things, that would be awesome. :D

What do you think?


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SoftwareEngineer
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09 Apr 2014, 12:44 am

I've been involved in several attempts are real neurodiversity initiatives. It's tough. Be prepared to get encouraging words, but little in the way of opened doors. I'm always looking for a way.



JakeDay
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09 Apr 2014, 4:34 am

I'm a walking talking advocate for neurodiversity, I am kind of forced to, being diagnosed with an ASD myself. I have friends with all kinds of mental differences both inside and outside of the autism spectrum. An organisation that fosters an understanding and appreciation for neurodiversity is a great idea!